JimboSails wrote:

Every year I take my 110 to France for some skiing. I'd like to put some better tyres on it to deal with the snow and ice (currently the tyres are capable but mismatched) and am also considering the implications of what I'm driving on for the motorway trip out there.

What are people's thoughts on 'Winter' Tyres? Correct me if I'm wrong, but they are made from softer rubber compounds, as well as having different treads?

I could replace all five tyres with a decent All Terrain and have done, or another thought is to buy 4x wheels with Winter Tyres, and swap them when I arrive out there, then swap them back before the long drive home.

I'm out for 3 weeks, and have been caught out before with my old Discovery, so want to get it right.

Frankly, your second option is a lot of effort when as already mentioned BFG KO2s absolutely do the job. I live in the Alps year round, and have had no problems, even with all the snow last year.


Click image to enlarge

Rarely are the roads to major ski stations so bad you’ll need full winter tyres (and chains). Of course there is the argument that winter tyres are good for any road conditions below about 7c, so if you were to put them on at the beginning of winter and keep them on for the whole season, (as done by normal cars here), then it would be worth it. But if you’re thinking of a full winter set-up just for the week you’re skiing, at a grand for wheels and tyres, that’s a lot of ski passes or fondue. IMHO BFG KO2s will do all you need them to....  Monsieur Le Grenadier

I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list.....

2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey

Countryman2 wrote:

My 90 has the original Continental Cross Contact AT M+S 235/85 R 16c tyres. This will be my first winter with the car in the snowy north of England. Although M+S presumably means mud and snow, there is no snowflake symbol. Does anyone know how they will perform in snow? There’s loads of tread left.

MadTom wrote:

New BFG AT KO2 are OK in winter, but only for first one or two years. No problem in deep snow, but on compacted snow or ice you can be surprised moving only straight. Problem is also in braking. Real winter tires are better.
I have 3 sets of tires (AT for trips and summer, MT for pay in mud ad Winter for winter) for Discovery 2 and for Defender 130. I have seen some Defender tipped over in winter on MT tires. And it was very fast. My personal experience is - with Defender on MT in deep snow I was king, on compacted snow it was nice, but not best braking performance, on clean ice it moved nice, but no steering and no braking - so the car has chosen to go straight through crossing with another road. Colleague in second car with winter tyres was able to stop, but it was tight for him. The difference is not big, but it is there.

I will say they are ok in fresh snow and slush. We were caught in bad blizzards in northern Spain early this year. Motorway closed, so we crossed the mountains on back roads. We were waved through a police road block at the start of a pass just because Land Rovers get you special treatment anywhere in the world! Copper just lent in, pointed at diff lock and said “Quattro pour Quattro” with a thumbs up!

To be honest, I thought we had made a mistake because of the tyres and not having chains, but those Cross Contacts were superb in that fresh snow. For three hours we were on switch back mountain roads, heavy snow fall. Traction and braking was really impressive. You can see in this pic that the treads self clean well...



Click image to enlarge 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS